All vehicles have an externally located port assembly, regardless of whether the vehicle is a conventional vehicle and the port is a fuel filler port, or the vehicle is an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle and the port is a charge port. The port assembly provides the user with easy access in order to fill the fuel tank with gas, or charge the on-board battery pack. A port door is used to protect the port from weather as well as possible tampering. In general, the same type of door latch and release assemblies are used for both charge port and fuel filler doors.
A variety of different mechanisms have been used to hold the port door of a vehicle in a closed position. Often the door is spring loaded toward an open position, thus causing the door to open, or at least partially open, when the latch is released. U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,418 discloses one type of latching mechanism in which a spring loaded latch is designed to engage a notch in the spring loaded door. The spring loaded latch can be pulled, thus releasing the door, using a remote release lever mounted in the passenger cabin or the trunk. The release lever is coupled to the spring loaded latch via a cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,678 discloses an alternate release system for use with a spring loaded latch and a spring loaded door. As disclosed, the system uses a compact solenoid assembly that may be activated using a switch mounted in the passenger compartment. The disclosed solenoid assembly is self-compensating in order to reduce the required armature travel distance and thus the size of the solenoid, thereby allowing a reduction in the size, weight and cost of the assembly.
In order to further reduce cost while retaining the style advantages of a flat hidden door with no visible finger opening, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,638 discloses a fuel door assembly with a push-push lock that eliminates the need for either a solenoid or cable remote latching mechanism. The disclosed push-push lock has two positions; a first position that holds the door in a completely closed position and a second position that holds the door in a partially open position, thereby allowing the door edge to be grasped and manually opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,633 discloses an alternate fuel filler door actuator that utilizes a motor and gear train to move the door latch between the locked and unlocked positions. Although the primary actuation system is an electric motor, the use of a manual override cable to manually move the latch from the locked to unlocked positions is also described.
The present invention provides an alternate port door unlatching system that is activated remotely prior to attaching a fuel coupler (e.g., a charge connector or a gas nozzle) to the filler port.